From Judgement to JOy
zephaniah
Main Idea: Seek the Lord and rejoice in His salvation.
I. The Warning: Judgment of the Lord
As in several of the other Minor Prophets, the expression that is frequently used to describe this time of God’s punishment on the sins of the people is the “Day of the Lord”. Zephaniah, more than any other of the Minor Prophets, uses this expression - 14x in chapter 1 alone (sometimes “on that day” or “a day.”)
Zephaniah 1:14-15: The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
The scope of this “day” of judgment can be understood by imagining four concentric, geographical circles:
Jerusalem (at the center; 1:10)
Judah (1:4, 14)
The nations surrounding Judah (2:4-15; Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Cush, and Assyria)
On all people (1:2-3, 18)
2 Peter 3:7–10: But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
II. The Command: Seek the Lord
Zephaniah 2:1-3: Gather together, yes, gather,
O shameless nation,
before the decree takes effect
—before the day passes away like chaff—
before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
The call to repentance in Zephaniah is in three movements:
The call to Judah (2:1-2): seek the Lord before the day of judgment comes
The call to repentance (2:3a): seek the Lord, seek righteousness, and seek humility
The result of repentance (2:3b): hidden on the day of the Lord
III. The Promise: The Joy of the Lord (3:14-20)
Not only are the warnings of judgment an incentive to seek the Lord, but a second incentive is given: a glorious vision of the future for those that do trust in God, for those who “seek refuge in the name of the Lord” (3:12). The Day of the Lord has “two parts” - it is not only a time of God’s punishment, it is also a time of God’s salvation.
With the shadows of judgment looming, Zephaniah’s greatest motivation for patiently pursuing God comes in his glorious vision of future hope that is held out for all who persevere in faith. Growing out of the fires of judgment will come a new creation that will include transformed worshipers from the nations of the world (Zeph. 3:8–10). And with God’s wrath now satisfied, having been poured out on the sinners or on the Substitute, the implications of this renewal are glorious for the faithful remnant of Judah.
~ Jason DeRouchie, We Are Made for Praise
This salvation is totally from God (3:18-20 - 8x ‘I will’), which is the reason to “rejoice and exult with all your heart” (3:14), because “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save” (3:17).
The safety and happiness of knowing God as ever-loving and ever-present will satisfy the deepest, most desperate longings in your soul. When you meet this God and know more and more of him, you won’t have to tell your heart to rejoice. It will be full and overflowing. Joy is the spontaneous song of the saved, the never-ending condition of the acquitted.
~Marshall Segal, “A Dream Come True in Corporate Worship”
Remarkably, this passage is not only about our joy in the Lord, but it is also about the Lord’s joy in us!
Zeph. 3:14: Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.Zeph. 3:17: He [the Lord] will rejoice over you with gladness; for he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
